Never. Call. The. Police.

It's time again for me to emphasis one of the most valuable lessons in life. Never call the police. Police aren't equipped to deal with any situation that doesn't requires violence. To make matters worse most police officers seem to be unable to judge whether or not violence is only solution to a given problem. Because of these two issues we get stories like this:

Two North Carolina parents are in shock after local police shot and killed their 18-year-old son in their own home, while they watched helplessly.

The family called police because they were worried about their son, Keith Vidal, who is schizophrenic and suffers from depression, according to local news. Vidal, armed with a small screwdriver, was apparently having a psychotic episode. Mark Wilsey, Vidal’s father, called the authorities to help deal with the situation.

An officer from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office and another from the Boiling Spring Lakes police department showed up to the house soon after. Eventually, a third officer from the Southport police department entered the home as well, and ordered the use of tasers to subdue Vidal. According to Wilsey, Vidal was pinned on the ground by two of the officers when a third said, “we don’t have time for this,” and shot Vidal, killing him.

The dismissive nature of the officers when it came to killing that man should be a lesson. They simply felt as though there were better uses for their time so they executed the man as it was the quickest solution to their perceived problem. Was it a necessary solution? No. Deadly force ceases to be necessary when your opponent is subdued. But this isn't something most police officers seem to understand. In their eyes the use of force is the most expedient solution to their problems.

Once again, never call the police. It will only make a bad situation worse.